. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/MIN(11)/ST/38 
16 December 2011  
 
(11-6598) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Eighth Session Geneva, 15 - 17 December 2011 Original: French 
 
  
BELGIUM 
 
Statement by H.E. Mr François Roux 
Ambassador, Permanent Representative 
   This Eighth Ministerial Conference will be marked by a number of fairly significant results.  
 Belgium welcomes the accession of the Ru ssian Federation, Samoa, Vanuatu, and 
Montenegro.  The enlargement of the WTO family can only reinforce the multilateral trading system 
and the rules that go with it.  This is a good thing.   We also welcome the decisions taken by the Ministerial Conference that will benefit the least developed countries.  Though  we had hoped for more, these measures are a step in the right 
direction, in that they place development thro ugh trade at the heart of the WTO's concerns. 
  This reflects the ambition of the Doha Agenda.   We are among those who continue to believe  that the conclusion of the Doha Round would 
enable considerable progress to be made in the ar ea of market access and the development of fair 
trade rules.   Above all, it would revive trade for the developing countries.   The adoption of the services waivers for the LD Cs is an illustration of what paragraph 47 of 
the Doha Declaration has to offer. 
  It is in that same spirit that we should purs ue the negotiations on trade facilitation and on the 
elimination of non-tariff measures.  
 In 2012, we shall also have to resume the non-agricultural market access negotiations.  
We must continue working on LDC-specific issues, including duty-free and quota-free market access.  In other words, 2012 will not be a lean  year for multilateral trade negotiations. 
  In periods of acute economic cr isis our unfortunate reflex is  to hide behind protectionist 
measures of a more or less subtle nature. 
  The introduction of such measures, whether or not consistent with WTO rules, would have 
the disastrous effect of aggravating the financial crisis with a trade crisis.   This is why Belgium attaches particular impor tance to the WTO's monitoring role.  The Trade 
Policy Review Mechanism is a useful tool in this respect, and its efficiency should be strengthened.  WT/MIN(11)/ST/38 
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  We must also continue our discussions on how best to ensure that the Member countries respect the 
rules of transparency and th eir notification obligations. 
  As an open economy, Belgium attaches consid erable importance to the WTO's role in 
ensuring that world markets remain open, in adoptin g non-discriminatory trade rules, in creating jobs 
and growth, and in taking up the new challenges of international trade. 
  In this connection Belgium welcomes the adoption yesterday, in Geneva, of the revision of the Agreement on Government Procurement.  We en courage other countries to join that Agreement. 
 
 Let me conclude by mentioning some of the challenges facing our Organization in the longer 
term.   Strengthening the multilateral trading system means adapting WTO rules to accommodate the 
issues raised by energy policies, food security, and environmental policies.  The challenge for 2012 
will be to avoid shying away from these i ssues, which require an urgent response. 
 
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